Snowplow



H. RELIEN Nov. 25, 1924- SNOWPLOW Filed Feb. 23 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 25, 1924. 1,517,016

H. RELIEN SNOWPLOW Filed Feb. 23 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ffwzy TOR. &,5;; W1?

A TTORNEYS'.

Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

HENRY RELIEN, OF GREENVILLE, WISCONSIN.

SNOWPLON.

Application filed February 23, 1924.. Serial No. 694,517.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, Hanan; RELIEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greenville, county of Outagamie, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Snowplows, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in snow plows.

Broadly speaking, it is an object of this invention to provide a novel and improved snow plow adapted to operate more efi'ectively under manifold road conditions than is possible with snow plows as they have hitherto been'constructed.

More specifically stated, it is my object to provide a novel snow plow adjustable to open tracks of dilfering widths, adapted, when necessary, to have one of its blades elevated out of contact with the road, provided with means for leaving the road in condition for facilitating the operation of opening it after future storms, and provided with means whereby it may either be drawn or pushed as circumstances may require.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a snow plow having an improved supporting shoe adapted to cut through ice and snow to the road bed, whereby the removal of accumulated snow and ice above said road will be substantially complete.

it is a further object of this invention to provide a plow which may be adjustable above its supporting shoes or casters to remove any desired depth of snow upon one passage over the road.

Further objects of this invention are to provide a plow having a pair of hingedly separable plates comprising the central member or backbone of the plow and connected with the plow blades to facilitate the elevation of one of the blades when necessary; to provide a plow having plates of the character aforesaid and arranged to prevent accumulation of snow between such blades; to provide a plow having blades of the character aforesaid and having a transverse member connected with one or said blades while permitting the other of said blades to have the hinged movement above referred to; to provide a novel and improved form of plow blade adapted not only to handle snow of great depth but also to lift and remove caked snow or ice from the road without requiring an undue exertion of power;

and to provide a novel form of means for attaching aplow to a propelling truck or tractor.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved plow as it appears when attached at the front of a truck to be pushed thereby.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure 1, a portion of one of the plow blades being broken away to expose part-s lying therebehind.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of my improved plow, showing in dotted lines one of the blades elevated.

Figure a is a fragmentary section taken on line l 4: of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail view in side elevation of a portion of the backbone or central plates of my improved plow.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

The plow consists primarily of a. pair of blades 10 and 11 and a backbone 12. All of these parts will be described hereinafter with more particularity.

The backbone 12 comprises a pair of plates and '15, the former of which is relatively stationary and is intended to be disposed at all times in a substantially vertical plane. Plate 14: is provided'at its forward endwith a supporting member 16 having apertures 17 to receive connection with a. towing vehicle or harness. The supporting member 16 is secured to plate 14 by bolts 18, the member 16 being slotted for vertical adjustment with respect to plate 14. The member 16 carries a shoe 19 of novel form which has a flat bottom or runner 20, a sharpened and upwardly inclined forward end 21, and a comparatively blunt rear end 22 which extends upwardly at a sharp angle. The shoe is apertured at 23, the apertures being evenly spaced and corresponding to similarly spaced apertures in the supporting member 16. The arrangement is such that the shoe may be reversed end for end.

lVhen the device. is to be operated on packed snow or ice the shoe will be so arranged that the sharpened edge 21 will lead, and this edge, under the weight of the plow, will cut through ice to the road bed from which the flat portion 20 of the shoe will support the plow. There-upon the blades of the plow may be brought close enough to the road bed to remove therefrom practically all of the packed ice and snow. A closer adjustment of the blades to the road can, of course be made on concrete or like highways where the road is comparatively smooth and level than can be n'iade on a country road which may perhaps be rutted.

hen the plow is to be used in light, fresln unpacked snow, the shoe will be reversed and the end 22 thereof will lead. This end will'not cut but will simply force aside the snow encountered by it, and will thereby maintain its level close to the surface of the highway. If a cutting edge were employed under such conditions, the plow might conceivably cut into the highway itself.

As is indicated most clearly in Figure 3, plate is considerably higher than plate 14 and is'hingedly connected therewith. through the medium of heavy staples which are secured to plate 1.5 and are threaded through suitable apertures adjacent the upper margin of plate la. This arrangement permits plate 1.5 to be hingedly tilted with reference to plate 14 toward or beyond the dottedline position indicated for plate 15 in Figure 3.

Each of the plow blades 10 and 11 is preferably made integrally from heavy sheet metal. I have found that half inch plate is none too heavy. Each blade is apertured adjacent its forward margin to receive staple secured to the plate with which the blade is to be connected. Thus, the blades are hinged to their respective plates 14: and 15 of the backbone, the arrangement being such that the angle of divergence between the blades may be adjusted as desired or each. of the blades may be independently adjusted to any desired angle with reference to its particular plate.

Each blade is curved slightly outwardly on its upper margin as indicated at 28. The upwardly curved flange 28 tends to prevent masses of snow accumulating ahead of the plow from forcing their way over the plow blades and falling behind such blades. Flanges 2S tend to ensure that the snow will all pass rearwardly of the end of the plow blade and will beproperly piled at the side of the road. Approximately the lower onethird of each blade is bent outwardly on a broad curve as indicated at 30. The curved portion 80 of the blade has its under side ground away at 31 to a substantially horizontal plane, whereby the edge of the blade is comparatively sharp. its shape is such that the sharpened edge operates upon the ice and snow with a shearing rather than a scraping action,and I hav found this type of blade to be very effective in clearing even the most diflicult roads. Furthermore, I have found that it is much easier to set the snow into motion where it is first elevated slightly before it is pressed outwardly by the angle of the blade. The very gradual curve of the portion of the blade lifts each piece of snow from the adjacent mass and frees it for outward movement.

The blades are maintained at the proper setting with respect to th backbone of the machine by means of suitable extensible braces 33. Flanges 34k and 35 project later ally from plates 14 and 15, respectively, and similar flanges 36 and 37 project laterally inwardly from each of the blades 10 and 11, re spectively. lipertured brace members .38 and 39 are pivotally connected respectively with flanges 3a and 36 and are adjustably fastened together by bolt a0 whereby their combined lengths may be increased or decreased. The extensible brace which connects flanges and is similarly .constructed. 7

llhreaded in the laterally projecting flanges of plate 14 .is a screw 42 upon which a hand wheel 43 is mounted Swivelled to the lower end of the screw is a fitl l carrying a caster wheel It is .tempiated that the caster wheel will not ordinarily be projected beneath a horizontal plane, including the runner of shoe 19, but, upon occasion, particular y when the plow is horse-drawn the hand wheel may be operated to elevate the entire forward end of th plow to lift the runner 19 oft of the ground so that the plow may be more'readily maneuvered when necessary.

The d anges .37 on b ade ll each carry screws d5 similar to screw 42. Screws 45 have hand wheels -16 and to each is connected a caster 4L7. arrangement makes it possible to adjust the height of the plow blades above the read, either in conformity with or invariance from the height of the forward portion of the device. as determined by adjustm 1 001 member 15 relative to plate let of the backs )O-IIS.

Spaced from each of the plow blades adjacent its rear margin is a strap adjacent towhich is a screw 51 preferably our naled in flanges 36 (or 37) rather than threaded therein. A U-shaped strap threaded upon each screw 51 to travel lilacv a nut thereon. Strap 52 is of such a size that a plank 54; confined within strapbll'is receivable therein. By means of the :screw 51 which is preferably provided with handle 55 the plank 54 may be raised or lowered as desired.

I have found that with an ordinary snow plow, when the road has once been cleared. the snow is usually left piled high at the sides of the path cleared by the plow. 'llnder such conditions a very slight fall of snow may be drifted to completely fill the cut made by the former passage of the plow and thereby to make the subsequent passage of a plow morediflicult than as if no plow had ever traversed the road. To avoid the 36 on blade 10 and. the flanges V This l in.

possibility of such occurrences, I have used the planks 54 adjustably carried from the blades of my plow, as indicated. The free ends of such planks will project beyond the ends of the blades and will ride on the piles of snow forced outwardly by the blades. The planks will displace the upper portion of the ridge of the pile left by the plow proper and will force such upper portion farther outwardly away from the road so that instead of leaving a ridge of snow behind the plow I have succeeded in devising means for distributing the snow quitetemplated that the frame shall be providedwith a rigid transverse member 61 such as in heavy trucks frequently serves the purpose of a bumper; The other portions of the vehicle are not indicated but will be understood to be assembled on the frame in the usual manner.

Bolted to the bumper portion (ll of frame (30 is a transverse strut member 62 which is provided with ears 63 connected by bolts 6% to the rear end of plate lat of the backbone 12 of the plow. Thus, the propulsive force t' the pushing vehicle is transmitted directly from the frame of the vehicle through the transverse dimension of strut member 62 to the backbone of the plow. The length of the strut member 62 is required to brace the plow properly for its guidance against the resilience offered by lateral shocks. For this purpose plate 1 lis apertured to receive an anchoring member 65 which is best shown in Figure 4. A tie rod 66 connects the extremity of strut member 62 with that portion of anchor which projects from the face of plate 1-1.

Whereas the anchor member 65 extends through plate 1%. with a comparatively close fit, plate 15 provided with a relatively large opening 6'7 having something the shape of a horizontallyarranged key hole. That portion of the anchoring member which projects through this opening 67 is connected by a tie rod 68 with the other extremity of the strut member 62. The shape of the aperture 67 in plate 15 is such as to offer no interference with the elevation of said plate, the tie rod 68 being received into the slotted portion of the opening 67 when the blade 11 is elevated. The ends of the strut are connected by tie rods 69 with the frame of the truck, and consequently, the series of tie rods 66, 68, and 69, together with the truck frame, the backbone of the plow, and the strut member 62, comprise a truss-like assembly which has been found to be very rigid and strong, enabling the plow to be steered readily by the truck.

As indicated in Figure 5, the rear portion of the backbone of the plow is supported from the road by a shoe 19 which may be a duplicate of that previously described. It will benoted further that the two shoes 1.9 are in ali nment and are adapted tomaiir tain the plow in alignment on the road despite unequal pressures at the sides thereof. Furthermore, the ends of'the plow blades are so supported by castered wheels that re- Y gardless of the included angle between such blades they will always move freely over the road surface. This would not be true if they were supported by runners or wheels nondirigibly connected with them.

tiometin'ies, when the snow is unusually heavy, it is undesirable to attemptto displace too much of it with one passage of the plow. At such times the plow blades 10 and 11 may be set toa comparatively narrow included angle and will thereby be adjusled to displace relatively little snow. If. under such circun'istances, the path made by the plow is inadequate for the traffic to be handled, the plow may make any number of subsequent passages. After the plow blades have beens'pread to their maximum practical angle, if it is still desired to widen the road, this may be'done by engaging the snow at the side of the road with one of the blades.

Under such circumstances it is desirable to elevate the other blade, as indicated in Figure 3 in dotted lines. The elevation may be accomplished. by using: screws 45 as a jack. and by subsequently supporting the blade by a chain indicated in dotted lines at 70. The elevation of theblade 11 which is not operative in packing snow at the side of the road is desirable in order that any residual snow on the surface of the road may not be ridged up in that portion of the road which has previously been cleared. In a high crowned highway there is very apt to be residual snow upon either side of the crown, and the elevation of the inoperatiie blade of the plow as aforesaid ensures that such snow will not be ridged objectionably in a way to impede traflic. When one blade of the plow is thus elevated, the other blade will remain operati e due to the fact that the runners 19 are fixed and resist any tendency toward lateral movement in the plow.

Since the members 14 and 15 comprising the backbone are hinged on a longitudinal axis adjacent their upper margins, such members might conceivably be separated during the operation of the plow by an iucreasingly large wedge of snow or ice entering between them at the forward end of plate 15. To prevent snow from accumulating in front of the plate 15 in such mass as conceivably to separate such plate from plate 14, I preferably bend outwardly a portion of the supporting member 16 in the manner shown at 72 in Figure l. This outwardly bent portion of the supporting member diverts the snow from the forward margin of plate 15 and operates effectively to 'keep the space between plates 14 and 15 free from snow.v

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that a plow designed in accordance with the disclosure herein satisfies the objects and purposes of this invention, and

"actual tests of a plow constructed in accordance herewith show that it will remove snow and ice from. a highway substantially to the road bed, or to any level above the road bed, which may be desired within its capacity. Furthermore. such a plow will level off ridges of snow which the ordinary plow would tend to leave at the sidesof the road and will make it possible for a subsequent road clearing operation to be performed with a minimum of ditliculty. Also, although the plow is comparatively easily attached to and detached, from a propelling vehicle, the attaching harness or truss as herein described is sufficiently rigid so that the driver of the vehicle can readily control the movement of the plow. In this regard theplow itself co-operates through the disposition and arrangement of its runners so that the plow is duly dirigible even when only one blade thereof is in use.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a central structural device comprising a pair of members hingedly related adjacent their upper margins, of plowblades connected with each of said members.

2. In a device of the character described,

the combination with a central longitudinal member. of a second member hingedly re- 4. Ina device of the character described, the combination with a pair of longitudinally extending hingedly related members, of a plow blade hingedly' connected at its forward end with one of said members, and adj ustably connected with same member rearwardly of its hinged connection therewith.

supported at a point remote from its axis of pivotal adjustment with castered means for supporting it from a road surface.

6. In a device of the character described,

the combination with a central member pro- V vided with supporting means for carrying it from a road surface at longitudinally spaced points, said means being adapted to oppose lateral movement of said members.

of a pair of oppositely disposed plow blades connected at their forward ends-with said member and independently supported at surface, one of said blades being mounted for oscillation upwardly about its point of connection with said member.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination with a pair of frame memhere in longitudinally hinged relation and a plow blade connected with each of said their rearward ends for travel'over road members, of a snow deflector.supported from one of said members and disposed'to displace snow from before said members. p,

8. In a device of the character described,

the combination with a long plate provid-' ed with means for supporting it from a'road surface, of a shorter plate provided with staple-s threaded through the longer plate adjacent its upper margin, and a snow deflecting'member connected with said longer plate and disposed immediately ahead of the forward end of said shorter plate. I

9. In a device of the character described, the combination with a main plate provided with means for supporting itfrom a road surface, of a secondary plate hinged at its upper margin to said main plate, and plow blades connected respectively to each of said plates.

10. In a device of the character described, m

the combination with a main plate provided with means for supporting it from a road surface, of a secondary plate hinged at. its upper margin to said main plate, and; plow blades connected respectively to each of said plates at their forward ends, said blades being independently supported adjacent their rearward ends. Y

11.- In a device of the character described,

the, combination. with a main plate provided with means for supporting it from a road surface, of a secondary plate hinged adjacent its upper margin to said main plate, plow blades respectively connected adjacent their forward ends to each of said plates.

12. In a device of the character described, the combination with a main plate provided with means for supporting it from a road surface, of a secondary plate hinged adjacent its upper margin to said main plate, plow blades respectively connected adjacent their forward ends to each of said plates, and means for independently supporting rearward portions of each of said blades from a road surface.

13 In a device of the character described, the combination with a pair of structural members in longitudinally hinged relation, one of such members being provided with an opening intermediate its upper and lower margins, of plow blades pivotally connected to respective members, and bracing means passing through the said opening in one of said members and connected with the other of said members.

14. In a device of the character described, the combination with a main central structural member and a plow blade connected thereto, of a secondary structural member longitudinally hinged with respect to said main member, a second plow blade connected with said secondary member, a transverse strut connected with said main member, and bracing means connecting a portion of said main member forwardly of said strut with portions of said strut upon either side of said main member, one of said bracing means passing through said secondary member.

15. In a device of the character described, the combination with a central main mem-- ber provided with means for supporting it from a road surface, a transverse member connected to a rearward portion of said main member, bracing means extending diagonally between outer portions of said transverse member and a forward portion of said main member, and plow blades hingedly connected with said main member for movement in a horizontal plane.

16. In a device of the character described, the combination with a central main member provided with means for supporting it from a road surface, a transverse member connected to a rearward portion of said main member, bracing means extending diagonally between outer portions of said transverse member and a forward portion of said main member, and plow blades hingedly connected with said main member for move ment in a horizontal plane, said plow blades having their hingedly movable portions adj ustably braced from said main member.

17. In a device of the character described the combination with a truck frame of a transverse member connected with said frame and projecting laterally uponv each side thereof, bracing means connecting outward portions of said transverse member with said frame, a central longitudinal plow support provided with diagonal braces to outer portions of said transverse member and connected centrally of said transverse member, and plow blades connected with said,

thereof, and abrace connecting an outer portion of said transverse member with said longitudinal plow member at a point remote from said transverse member.

19. In a device of the character described, the combination with a vehicle frame and a transverse member at the front thereof, of

a longitudinal plow member arranged to be pushed by said frame, a blade operatively connected as its forward. end with said longitudinal n ember and extending outwardly and rearwardly from its point of connection therewith, and bracing means connected with said longitudinal plow member adj acent the point of connection of said blade and extending diagonally portion of said transverse member remote from said longitudinal plow member.

20. In a. device of the character described, the combination with a vehicle frame of a transverse member at the front thereof and provided with an outer portion projecting laterally therefrom, diagonal bracing means connecting said outer portion with said frame, alongitudinal structural plow member provided with a plow blade and arranged to be pushed from said frame, and bracing means connecting said plow member forwardly of said frame with said transverse member laterally of said frame.

21. In a device of the character described, the combination with a vehicle frame and a transverse strut member at the front thereof, of a pair of longitudinally extending plow members projecting forwardly from said strut and hinged together upon a longitudinal axis, one of said plow members ing connected with said strut and the other being provided with an opening, plow blades connected with each of said longitudinal plow members, and bracing means connecting outer portions of said strut with a forward portion of the longitudinal plow member, connecting with said strut one of said bracing means passing through the opening in the other longitudinal plow member.

22. In a device of the character described, the combination with a vehicle frame of a IOU ward ends with the forward ends of said blades, and connected at their rearward ends with laterally remote portions of said frame.

23. In a device of the character described, the combination. with a pair of hingedly related plow blades and a transverse member rearwardly of said diagonal brace connected at their forward ends with the forward ends of'said blades, and connected at their rear'ends with laterally remote portions of said transverse member.

24. In a device of the character described, the combination with a. vehicle frame, of a central structural plow unit projecting forwardly from said frame and braced against lateral movement with respect thereto, and

a pair of plow blades connected with the forward portion of said structural unit and diverging rearwardly therefrom.

25. In a device of the character described, the combination with a vehicle frame, of a central s'tnictural plow unit projectingforwardly from said frame and braced against lateral movement with respect thereto, and a "pair of plow blades connected with the diverging rearwa-rdly therefrom, said blades being plvotally connected w1th said unit and adjustably braced therefrom,-whereby the angle of their divergence is adjustable.

26. In a device of the character described,

a reversible shoe having a broad main supporting surface terminating at one end in a surface extending sharply upwardly, and at the other end in a surface extending less sharply upwardly.

27. In a device of the character described, a reversible shoe having a broad main supporting surface terminating at one end in a surface extending sharply upwardly, and at the, other end in a surface extending less sharplyupwardly, said last mentioned surface being sharpened to provide forwardly and downwardlyconverging portions and a central apex.

28. In a device of the character described, the combination with a plowof a supporting shoe reversibly connected rigidly thereto, said shoe being provided with a runner portion and with ends of differing degrees of bluntness. r

HENRY RELIEN- 

